1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fan motor, which is mounted on an upper surface of an electronic component to be cooled. In particular, the present invention relates to the structure of a fan motor which is used for cooling a CPU in a personal computer, a fan motor used in a compact portable electronic equipment, etc.
2. Related Art
Compact and high-performance electronic equipment has been developed according to the recent progress in electronic technology. The electronic equipment requires forcible cooling using a fan motor or the like since the electronic components are integrated therein with high density, and the heat generated therefrom cannot be released sufficiently by natural air cooling.
The degree of integration has increased particularly in CPUs, and there has arisen a need to provide a fan motor and a heat sink on an upper portion of the CPU. The typical structure of a fan motor is shown in FIG. 8.
In FIG. 8, reference numeral 50 denotes a cooling plate, (e.g., a thermally dissipating surface) which is secured to a CPU, a RAM, or the like. The cooling plate 50 is provided at it central portion with a cooling hole 51 for allowing cooling air from a fan motor 100 to pass therethrough. On the other hand, the fan motor 100 has an attaching plate 120 which is disposed on and attached to a lower portion of a cooling fan section (a motor main body portion and a cooling blade portion) 110.
The fan motor 100 is fixed to the cooling plate 50 in such a manner that the attaching plate 120 is placed on the upper surface of the cooling plate 50, and then the attaching plate 120 is fixed to the cooling plate 50 using screws extending downwardly.
A signal line (lead wires) 150 for supplying a motor drive signal is led from the attaching plate 120 and secured to the cooling plate 50 using an adhesive agent, a thermosetting resin, or the like as shown by 200 in FIG. 8. Alternatively, the signal line 150 may be clamped by a clamp member that is fixed to the cooling plate 50 using screws.
In recent years, the demand directed to making the electronic equipment compact in size has been increased more and more, and a compact and thin fan motor portion has been required for the electronic equipment accordingly. Various attempts have been made to make the motor portions compact and thin, but are still insufficient to satisfy the recent increased demand requiring a more compact, thinner fan motor portions.
Besides, it is also pointed out that the attachment of the signal line using an adhesive agent or the like requires the increased number of manufacturing steps, and is deficient in reliability. The attachment of the signal line using the clamp member makes the structure complex, and increases the manufacturing cost.